Of Bedsheets and Riverbanks
by stupid-tai
Summary: He couldn't do it anymore, no matter how much he wanted to pretend.


Their hips moved in perfect harmony as he pumped hard and she arched her body against his, meshing the contours of their bodies perfectly. A single pair of boxers lay forgotten on the ground; he had come wearing only the undergarment while she simply requipped her armor into nudity. He grunted harshly and she moaned softly and their body heat contrasted sharply with the atmospheric chill that he was subconsciously creating. She moaned louder and tilted her head back as he nipped at her neck, exposing the soft flesh to his ravenous mouth.

In all honestly, she loved it. She loved the idea of them. And yet…

"Gray…" she mumbled in an attempt to get his attention. He grunted in acknowledgement, but continued to thrust. She hated that it had to come to this.

"Gray, stop…"

He halted his motions and sighed, dropping his head. Slowly, he extracted himself from in between her legs and moved to sit on the edge of her bed. She sat up and covered her body with the slightly sweat-dampened sheets, not looking at him.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled sadly, turning his head away from her as he slouched over and ran his fingers through his hair.

Her heart panged painfully and her gaze shot to him. She reached out to touch his shoulder, but retracted when she felt the freezing air enveloping him.

"Don't be sorry Gray, it's my fault."

He turned to face her so suddenly that she started, but when she saw his hurt and scrutinizing gaze, she froze.

How ironic.

"If I haven't done anything, then what's wrong? That's the fifth time we've stopped, Erza. I can't keep doing this."

She winced slightly. So he had been keeping count too.

Suddenly, she couldn't bear to look at him.

"I-I don't know w-what's wrong." Only he could have the great Titania stuttering.

His onyx eyes searched her own golden-brown ones before he sighed, stood up, and said, "You're lying."

When she did not reply, he continued.

"I'm not stupid, Erza. I can tell."

In a fit of defiance, she shot back, "You can tell what, exactly?"

They glared at each other before he softened his gaze and looked away, making her subconsciously abandon her attempt at getting angry.

After a long pause, he mumbled, "I can tell you still care about him."

Her breath caught her throat and her eyes widened in surprise.

He wasn't supposed to be able to notice. Sure, he wasn't as oblivious or idiotic as Natsu, but she always figured he was close to.

"Gray, I-"

"I don't need excuses!" he shouted, his fist clenched and shaking by his side. He whipped around to face her again. "I need the truth, Erza!" His voice dropped several decibels so suddenly that it worried her more than the yelling. "Do you still love Jellal?"

"I…" She couldn't answer him, couldn't tell him the truth. It would kill him, and that would kill her. Instead, she turned away from him, willing herself not to cry.

She felt him pinch her chin gently with his thumb and forefinger, willing her to look back at his sad, charcoal eyes.

"Erza… please. Do you still love him?"

Her eyes watered and she slowly nodded her head.

The air around them dropped several degrees, and his black gaze darkened even further than she thought possible.

He dropped his hand and stood once more.

"Then what am I doing here?"

Gray stepped into his boxers and started to make his way to the window through which he had entered the girl's dormitory, but she grabbed his wrist before he could leave her proximity.

"Gray, wait." Even she could hear the pleading in her voice. "Please, just wait."

"Wait for what? For you? Erza, I've been waiting around for you since we were twelve and I found you on that riverbank! What the hell have these past few weeks been for? Was I supposed to replace him? 'Cause you could've just gone for Mystogan, who looks exactly fucking like him!"

She was close to tears now, and she couldn't help but notice how he had always been the one to see her at her most vulnerable.

"No, it's nothing like that! If I wanted to replace him then I would've just gone to Mystogan anyway! But I went to you, Gray, no one else!"

His eyes softened for a fraction of a second, and she was almost elated, but he turned to the window again and shook off her grip.

"I'm sorry, Erza. But I told you, I can't keep doing this."

He perched himself on the window sill and glanced back at her and she could have sworn she caught a sad smile on his lips. She raced to the window to stop him, abandoning her bed sheet and all the dignity of partial nudity in the process.

"Gray, wait!"

But he jumped. She reached the window and looked down to see that the patch of grass where he had landed was frozen over. She scanned the lawn frantically for his silhouette, but after a minute of searching in the dark, she accepted that he had gone.

She slumped down to the floor, back against the wall, and allowed the tears to fall. She requipped her armor for the sense of security that only he and the cold metal could provide. She knew it was her fault, and she knew that she loved him, but her feelings for Jellal made things so much more complicated. After an hour of two, the tears had dried out and the earliest signs of dawn were peeking over the horizon. She wiped her raw eyes free of any excess moisture and made her way over to the bed, endeavoring to sleep at least a few hours before going to talk to him. The last thing she thought of before sinking into nightmares of towers and chains was not Jellal, as it usually was, but him. And suddenly, she felt like she could face whatever the nightmares brought.

**(AN: First Fairy Tail. Obviously it's a Gray/Erza. I know they're both a bit OOC, but what the hell. I got this idea from the fic **_**Inferno**_**, by Idiotique, and just like that one, it will be a two-shot. And sorry to my other fic readers, namely **_**So Crazy**_** and **_**BlackStar: Wanted**_**, but I've got so many ideas running around my head it's nauseating, and I just gotta get them out of there before I lose them. I'm thinking of doing some Pokemon fics for Black/White, Ethan/Jasmine, Ethan/Lyra, Red/Leaf, and maybe Ash/Dawn and Ash/May. I'll probably do a couple Kingdom Hearts too. They'll all be one or two-shot. Anyway, I actually like how this one turned out, and I can't wait to do the next chapter. It won't be anything special, but whatever. It'll be less serious and more funny. Just a super long update since I haven't updated in a while. Thanks for reading!)**


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